On this Behind the Mitten podcast, co-hosts Amy Sherman and John Gonzalez interview teachers and students who participated in Consumers Energy’s 2023 SmartArt Competition with Grand Rapids Public Schools and ArtPrize.

On Sunday (Sept. 17), students were recognized for their clean energy-themed artwork in a ceremony presented by Consumers, GRPS and ArtPrize.

GRPS student Joshua Kortenhoven won the 2023 SmartArt competition with artwork titled “Green Shoes.” He received a $2,000 college scholarship from Consumers Energy. He is a 10th graders at City High Middle School.

The Peoples Choice winner was Mathew Pierce, a junior at Ottawa Hills High School. His work was titled "Striped Hyena."

On this podcast Gonzo and Amy interview:

• Art teacher Marci Hanley of University Preparatory Academy, who had two students who made the Top 20. She explains the SmartArt competition.
• Winner Joshua Kortenhoven joins in next to talk about his winning artwork.
• Art teacher Teagan Burns of Museum High School, whose student Mathew Pierce was the People's Choice winner, talks about how important it is for students to be validated.
• And Josiah Willink (who finished #4 in the competition), a senior at City High Middle School, who is considering art education as a major. He explains in detail his work titled "Sunclimbers."

Artwork from the finalists included mixed media, oil painting, ceramic, yarn, digital, ink, plastic, and more. They were selected from 41 entries.

The 20 finalists, along with their artwork title, grade, and high school are, in alphabetical order:

• Quinlyn Angstman, Connected, 9th, Museum HS
• Zy'Aira Blackmon, If I Could Wear It On My Shell, 9th, Innovation Central
• Alice Cork, A Better Future, 10th, City HMS
• Imoni Curry, Healing, 9th, U-Prep
• Yoselin Diaz-Deleon, Imagine, 11th, C.A. Frost
• Jacey Doyle, Reusable Energy, 11th, Museum HS
• Amelia Ferenczi, Military vs. Future, 9th, Union
• Chloe Gust, Reaching for the Sun, 10th, C.A. Frost
• A'Nyah Harris, Just Another Rainforest of the Sea, 9th, Museum HS
• Carneiscia Harris, Power Cleaner Greener World, 11th, Innovation Central
• Precious Herrera, Una Hermosa Bendicion, 11th, Southwest MHS
• Emma Hoogewind, Stories, 9th, C.A. Frost
• Clara Kirkbride, Whales, 9th, C.A. Frost
• Joshua Kortenhoven, Green Shoes, 9th, City HMS
• Mathew Pierce, Striped Hyena, 10th, Ottawa Hills HS
• Azaria Powell, Mother Earth, 9th, U-Prep
• Eliot Redwine, Biomass, 11th, City HMS
• Rachel Sackett, The Veil, 11th, City HMS
• Connor Thompson, Economic Greed, 9th, Museum HS
• Josiah Willink, Sunclimbers, 11th, City HMS

The winner’s artwork, along with the art from Top 10 finalists, is on display during ArtPrize on
a large banner hanging outside the Consumers Energy electric substation downtown at Fulton Street and Market Avenue.

ArtPrize continues through Oct. 1.

To see photos of all the Top 20 winners and learn more about SmartArt, go to force4michigan.com.

To learn more about Behind the Mitten go to amyandgonzo.com.

Follow Gonzo and Amy:
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten
Twitter at @BehindTheMitten
Instagram at @BehindTheMitten